BSP: Senate approval on tax reform revives foreign investments to PH

A watered-down bill is still a good deal as far as foreign investors are concerned.

Foreign portfolio investments to the Philippines posted a $113 million net inflow in September, bouncing back from the $58 million outflow the previous month amid revived interest towards the country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

More flighty funds flocked the Philippines last month as investors took the approval of the tax reform bill at the Senate committee level as a positive step. This came despite criticisms that the Senate version would only be able to raise less than P60 billion in new revenues, which is barely half of what the Department of Finance wanted to add to state coffers.

The biggest gains were seen in the form of placements on peso government securities and time deposits, against outflows from the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Most of the funds came from the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Norway, and Luxembourg, the central bank said, although the funds removed from the Philippines found its way back to the US.